Home / Flashcard library / High school & admissions / AP Chemistry / Structure and Properties

High school & admissions

AP Chemistry — Structure and Properties flashcards

10 of 77 cards free to study here · 3 topics · the whole deck is built into Willys

Units 1–3 of the AP Chemistry course: mass spectra, electron configuration and photoelectron spectra, periodic trends, bonding, Lewis structures and VSEPR, intermolecular forces, gases, solutions, chromatography and Beer's law.

Get the app All AP Chemistry decks

Learn deck · part of AP Chemistry · written against: College Board AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description (nine units). Updated 2026-10-10.

Study the free sample

10 cards from the deck as they are. Flip, rate yourself, filter by topic; your progress stays in this browser.

The 10 sample cards as a list
  1. A mass spectrum of an element shows two peaks: mass 10 at about 20% and mass 11 at about 80% relative abundance. Which element is it, and what is its average atomic mass?
    Boron, with an average atomic mass of about 10.8 amu: 0.20×10+0.80×11=10.80.20 \times 10 + 0.80 \times 11 = 10.8⁠.

    Why: the average is weighted by abundance, so it sits closer to the more common isotope.
    Atomic Structure and Properties › Moles and Mass Spectra
  2. In the mass spectrum of an element, what do the horizontal position and the height of each peak tell you?
    Position gives the mass-to-charge ratio, which for singly charged ions is the mass of that isotope; height gives its relative abundance.
    Atomic Structure and Properties › Moles and Mass Spectra
  3. Chlorine's average atomic mass is 35.45 and its isotopes are chlorine-35 and chlorine-37. Which isotope is more abundant, and in roughly what ratio?
    Chlorine-35, in roughly a 3 : 1 ratio (about 76% to 24%), because 35.45 lies about a quarter of the way from 35 to 37.
    Atomic Structure and Properties › Moles and Mass Spectra
  4. A student says some chlorine atoms have a mass of 35.45 amu. What is wrong with that statement?
    No single atom has that mass: 35.45 is a weighted average of isotopes whose individual masses are close to 35 and 37.

    Watch out: the mass number of an isotope is a whole number; the periodic-table value is an average.
    Atomic Structure and Properties › Moles and Mass Spectra
  5. Which compound has the larger lattice energy, LiF or KF, and why?
    LiF. Both ions are singly charged, but Li⁺ is much smaller than K⁺, so the ions sit closer together and Coulomb's law gives a stronger attraction.
    Molecular and Ionic Bonding › Bond Types and Lattices
  6. Why does an ionic crystal shatter when struck, while a metal bends?
    Shifting the layers of an ionic lattice lines up like charges, which repel and split the crystal; in a metal the cations sit in a sea of delocalized electrons that keeps bonding them as layers slide.
    Molecular and Ionic Bonding › Bond Types and Lattices
  7. Why does solid NaCl not conduct electricity, while molten NaCl and salt water do?
    Conduction needs mobile charged particles. In the solid the ions are locked in the lattice; melting or dissolving frees them to move.
    Molecular and Ionic Bonding › Bond Types and Lattices
  8. n-Pentane boils at 36 °C and neopentane, with the same formula C₅H₁₂, boils near 10 °C. Why?
    The long, unbranched n-pentane molecules have more surface contact with one another, so their London dispersion forces are stronger; compact, branched neopentane touches its neighbors over a smaller area.
    Intermolecular Forces and Properties › Intermolecular Forces
  9. Ethanol and dimethyl ether share the formula C₂H₆O. Which has the higher boiling point, and why?
    Ethanol (78 °C versus about −24 °C). Its O–H group lets molecules hydrogen-bond to one another, while dimethyl ether has no hydrogen on oxygen and relies on weaker dipole–dipole forces.
    Intermolecular Forces and Properties › Intermolecular Forces
  10. Can acetone molecules hydrogen-bond to each other, and can acetone hydrogen-bond with water?
    Not to each other — acetone has no H bonded to N, O or F. With water, yes: water's O–H hydrogens bond to the lone pairs on acetone's oxygen, which is why the two mix completely.
    Intermolecular Forces and Properties › Intermolecular Forces

Unlock the whole deck

You are studying a free 10-card sample. All 77 cards of AP Chemistry — Structure and Properties, the other 2 AP Chemistry decks, and spaced-repetition scheduling are built into Willys. 14-day free trial, then $14.99 a year.

Get the app

In Willys, tap Exam Library at the top of your Decks (or Browse Exam Library… under the + button), find the exam on its shelf or by search, tick it and tap Add.

More AP Chemistry decks

Reactions, Kinetics and EquilibriumPractice Questions

← All AP Chemistry decks, with the study guide and topic outline.

About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Topic outline follows the College Board AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description (effective Fall 2024), Units 1–3 (outline only; no course or exam text reproduced).
  • OpenStax Chemistry 2e, consulted as a reference; no text copied.

These are independent study notes written for Willys. They are not official exam material, may contain mistakes, and are no substitute for your course, your teacher or the exam owner's own publications. Found an error? Tell us — corrections ship as a new version of the deck.

AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this product.

Use of these pages is covered by our Terms of Use.